There’s no other way around it, the Sacred Heart Crusaders were clutch in the first round against French Camp. Not only did they pull off the walk-off in Game 2 Saturday, but the Crusaders scored three runs in the top of the seventh in Game 1 to tie the game at 4. They would go on to score the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, then held on for the win.
“Our mindset all year was to just keep playing until the last pitch,” Sacred Heart Drew Dewease said. “They never felt like it was over. Just the confidence the kids have in each other I think have really shown in the last few games.”
The playoffs get tougher this week, though, so Sacred Heart will have to move on from last week quickly. Third-seeded Sacred Heart travels to No. 1 seed Stringer for Game 1 Friday night before hosting the Red Devils Saturday for Game 2. If necessary, Game 3 will be back in Stringer on Monday, and all game times are set for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
For Dewease and his players, it’s all about staying in the present after an emotional pair of wins in the first round. Getting off to a good start is important, too.
“I just think if we keep the same mindset, we do what we’ve been doing all year and correct some of the mistakes we made this past weekend,” he said. “Yeah, we got the timely hits when we needed them, which is what it takes to win baseball games, but we have to get started a little faster early on.”
Stringer is as solid team in every phase of the game. It hits .312 from the plate and has a team earned run average of 3.67. It’s only downfall is its .932 fielding percentage, but even that’s an OK number for a 1A baseball team.
Eighth-grader Jackson Parker leads the offense with a .429 batting average with 33 RBI, and juniors Conner Hicks and Conner Smith contribute with a .403 and .385 average, respectively. Hicks leads the team with three home runs and second with 27 RBI while Smith has added 22 RBI and seven doubles.
On the mound, Hicks and Parker dominate the logged innings for the Red Devils. Parker’s ERA sits at 2.33 in 42 innings and Hicks leads the way with 48.1 innings and a 4.20 ERA. Hicks has 73 strikeouts to 23 walks and Parker has 59 sit-downs with 17 free bases allowed.
“They’re always solid,” Dewease said. “Wade does a good job up there, and they’re built on a strong tradition of having good baseball teams. We’ve played the last few years inside the district and we’ve had some good games with them where it was a shame somebody had to lose them. I’m looking forward to a good three-game series. We’ll see what happens.”
It is unclear if sophomore Luke Odom and eighth-grader Levi Odom, who didn’t play in Game 2 against French Camp for undisclosed reasons, will play in the series. The Odom brothers are the Top 2 pitchers on the Sacred Heart staff, and Levi leads the offense with a .457 batting average.
After Luke Odom started Game 1 of the first-round series, sophomore Luke Hicks and senior Nathan Gerald pitched in Game 2, and the two combined to allow six French Camp runs.
